New York City, NY – 20-year-old Phillip Martin-Nelson credits ballet for helping with his autism and making him a principal dancer at Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. Martin-Nelson was diagnosed with a severe form of autism at a young age. Like most children at his end of the spectrum, he didn’t talk and didn’t want anyone to touch him.
“They said I would never be able to live on my own or take care of myself,”
Philip Martin-Nelson told Fox News. This went on for three years. To help their son his parents enrolled him in autism therapies, sports, and gymnastics. He thrived and gained the ability to speak, and ask for what he really wanted: to dance.
At age 6 he was enrolled in his first ballet class. His life improved from first Plie and soon ballet danced into other aspects of his life, taking up any free time he had. According to Marin-Nelson, his easy success at ballet was no shock to his mother:
“My mom used to tell me when we would put Barney on the TV and I would memorize the dances before I could speak,”
His dedication is paying off with a chance to be a principal dancer at the all-mail dance company Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo.
Source: Fox News website: Man with autism credits ballet with saving his life
Contributed by Audrey L. Hollingshead